"Quick! Quick! Take off at once! The Germans are here!"
With the help of the ground crew, an I-16 fighter plane's propeller began spinning rapidly. Then, the aircraft raced down the runway, gaining speed until it finally soared into the sky.
The other fighters were also preparing to take off. They all knew that with the German Air Force attacking in force, remaining on the ground meant certain death. Though taking to the sky to fight the German Air Force would very likely get them shot down by the Germans, at least there was still a glimmer of hope.
However, the German Air Force had arrived far too quickly. Only three I-16 fighters had made it into the air before the German Air Force fighter planes reached the airfield.
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
An FW-190 fighter dived down, its nose-mounted MK108 cannon firing a short burst. Three 30mm shells streaked toward an I-16 fighter that was preparing to pull up.
One shell struck the I-16's cockpit. The canopy shattered into fragments, and the pilot was blown to death on the spot. Having lost control, the aircraft slammed viciously onto the runway, becoming a heap of burning scrap metal.
The German Air Force's FW-190 fighters possessed formidable firepower. Mounted along the engine axis in the nose was an MK108 cannon with a 30mm caliber. At each wing root was an MG151 cannon with a 20mm caliber. In addition, each wing carried an MG131 machine gun with a 12.7mm caliber. Such firepower was tremendously powerful whether used against enemy fighters or bombers, easily tearing them to pieces.
Oscar had always demanded that German Air Force fighters be fitted with cannons. Although pilots preferred machine guns that could fire continuously during aerial dogfights, cannons, despite their great power, carried too little ammunition. One careless moment, and